


Roll The Dice

by ariquitecontrary (ItsAriyanna)



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Friends to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-06 13:14:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 13,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11601393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsAriyanna/pseuds/ariquitecontrary
Summary: “So what’s your plan?” Veronica asks, raising an eyebrow. “Fake date someone so you can learn how to be a good girlfriend for him?”Betty looks at her in wonder. “Actually… actually that’s a great idea, V.”or Betty is oblivious, Jughead pines, Veronica spills the tea, and Reggie finds his One True Bro™.





	Roll The Dice

**Author's Note:**

> This is from a prompt I saw a looooong time ago on Tumblr. I even have a Malec fic based on it, but I decided to give it a go with Bughead. :)
> 
> As always, thanks to the bae @itstenafterfour for being the best beta and friend ever. 
> 
> PS. One Tree Hill is my favorite show so Juggie/Reggie roasting it is just a joke, don't hate me lmao. 
> 
> ENJOY!

Four months. It’s only four months. Betty Cooper reminds herself of this whenever she thinks about how Archie is leaving her to study abroad in Europe. When he had first told her the news, she had been devastated. Her and Archie had never spent more than a few days apart from each other since they had first met and now they had to go a whole four months. He had promised her that they would Skype as much as possible and that he’d call her every night, but it just wasn’t the same. She wanted him there in person with her.

“This would be the perfect time to tell him,” Veronica Lodge tells her as they drive up to Archie’s house. They’re supposed to be taking him to the airport. Betty wonders if maybe she can crash the car that way she can stall time and he doesn’t have to leave. “You can totally have one of those movie moments where you confess your love to him at the airport and then you guys kiss and fall in love and he doesn’t leave you. Oh, it’ll be so beautiful.” 

Betty glares at her best friend. It’s no secret that she’s been in love with Archie since they were kids. Apparently everyone in Riverdale is aware of this _except_ for Archie himself. Betty felt like she had made it very clear throughout the years, but he never seemed to get the hint and she was way too scared to tell him outright. Archie was nothing if not completely oblivious.

“I can’t just tell him before he leaves for six months,” she grumbles. “I should tell him when he comes back.” 

Veronica glares at her. Betty already knows what she’s thinking but before the brunette can say anything, Archie knocks on the passenger's window as he smiles and waves at the two girls. Betty rolls down her window. 

“Hey, Arch!” 

“Hey, Betty! Ronnie.” Veronica nods at him. “Pop the trunk for me?” Veronica does as he asks and he puts his luggage in the trunk of her BMW before climbing into the backseat.

“Thanks for driving me again,” he tells her as he puts on his seatbelt. “It means a lot.” 

“Of course. Betty wanted to be able to say goodbye before you leave us.” Veronica gives Betty a smirk and the blonde glares at her. She loves Veronica, but she’s always trying to meddle into her plans. 

“Aw, Betty,” he places a hand on her shoulder and Betty can feel her cheeks redden at the touch. “I’ll be back before you know it!” 

“I know, Arch.” She puts her hand over his and gives it a gentle pat before pulling away. 

They spend the car ride in comfortable conversation. Archie tells them about his schedule for Europe and how excited he is. The entire thing has Betty feeling both happy and sad. She’s glad that Archie’s going to be able to get out of the country and discover new and exciting things, she really is, but she feels like her heart is actually breaking at the thought of being without him. She doesn’t know how she’s supposed to get through any of this. It’s the summer before their final year of college and they were supposed to spend it together, but now that’s changing and she’s a bit devastated by it all. 

Veronica stays in the car while Betty gets out to help Archie with his bags. Veronica isn’t stressed out at all over Archie leaving and she’s fine with a simple wave goodbye and a ‘text me when you land’. Betty wonders what that’s like. 

“I’m going to miss you,” she says as she looks at the ground once they’ve gotten his bags down. “Riverdale’s going to suck without you.”

“Riverdale sucks in general,” he laughs. “But I’ll miss you too. What am I going to do without my best girl?” He pulls Betty in for a hug and she has to refrain from crying. She’s always been a little too sentimental when it came to Archie. “I’ll Skype you every night, I promise. Nothing’s going to change between us.” 

“Be safe,” she sniffs out. “And have fun. Bring me something back?” 

“You know I will. I love you, Betty.” 

“I love you too.”

She wishes she could tell him just how much she loves him, but she doesn’t. Instead she just waves goodbye to him and wishes him a safe flight. She hates herself for being so weak. She doesn’t understand why she can’t just tell him the truth about how she feels about him. According to everyone, they’re “endgame” so she doesn’t understand what she’s so afraid of; losing him probably, although she can’t really see that happening. 

She gets back in Veronica’s car and gives her a look before she can even open her mouth. 

“Don’t say anything.” 

“I wasn’t going to,” Veronica says gently while starting the car. The ride back home is quiet and miserable and Betty spends it wishing she was a little bit braver. 

 

She sips on a milkshake at Pop’s while glaring daggers at Veronica and Reggie sitting across from her. 

Veronica and Reggie are that couple that have been dating since high school that you just _know_ are going to be together forever. They were a true power couple and while Betty adored them, she was kind of sick of them always acting so in love around her. Being around them just managed to make her remember that she still hadn’t told Archie her real feelings and therefore she couldn’t share the kind of happiness they had with someone of her own. 

“Why are you so down, little Coop?” 

“I told you to stop calling me that,” she says with an eyeroll. 

“Don’t mind her,” Veronica tells her boyfriend. “She’s just sad because Archie left for Europe yesterday.” 

“Did you tell him how you feel yet?”

She wonders how pathetic she must be if even Reggie Mantle is worried about her love life. 

“No,” she answers, “I can’t tell him yet.” 

“And why not?”

“Well for one, ‘cause I don’t know the first thing about being somebody’s girlfriend,” she tells him. “I’ve never even held hands with a guy who wasn’t Archie. How am I supposed to be his girlfriend?”

“I think it just kind of comes naturally.” 

“No. I can’t confess my love for him and then make a fool of myself by being a terrible girlfriend.” 

“So what’s your plan?” Veronica asks, raising an eyebrow. “Fake date someone so you can learn how to be a good girlfriend for him?” 

Betty looks at her in wonder. “Actually… actually that’s a great idea, V.” 

“Wait!” Veronica says, eyes wide. “Are you actually serious right now? Betty, that was a joke. Obviously that was a joke!” 

“No, it’s a good idea. Think about it! I have four months to learn how to be a good girlfriend that way whenever Archie comes back, I’ll know what to do and I won’t have to worry about embarrassing myself in front of him.” 

“I think embarrassing yourself is a key part of a relationship,” Reggie says uneasily. “You can’t just go around being perfect all the time.” 

“For Archie, yes I can.”

“And who do you plan on using in this experiment?” Veronica all but screeches. “You can’t just use someone like that!” 

“I won’t be using them. I’ll let them know up front what the plan is. I’m not trying to toy with someone’s feelings.” 

“Betty, this isn’t going to work. No one in their right mind would agree to fake date someone for four months and not get anything out of it.” 

“I would.” 

Betty jumps in surprise. All three of them turn around and see Jughead Jones sitting behind them in a booth of his own with a smirk on his face. 

“And why would you do that?” Betty asks, confused. She doesn’t really know Jughead at all. They’ve gone to the same schools since they were kids, but he kind of stuck to himself and never tried to befriend anyone. He was occasionally around their group because Archie and him were _sort of_ friends, but Betty had never really connected with him at all. Not like they got the chance though, with Betty all up caught up in Archie and Jughead’s self-isolating personality.

“Sounds like you need help,” he says with a shrug. “And I have time.” 

“You’d help me?”

“Sure. Never let it be said that I don’t help out those in need.” 

“Betty,” Veronica hisses, even kicking her under the table to get her attention. “This isn’t a good idea.” 

Betty ignores her as she studies Jughead. He looks sincere enough, albeit minus the cocky smirk on his face. 

“What’s in it for you?” Betty asks, not sure if she can trust him. 

“Nothing. I get to spend time with a pretty girl. I think it’ll give me some cred, don’t you?”

“You are aware I’m doing this to get Archie, right?” The last thing she needs is some random guy falling in love with her while she’s already in love with someone else. 

“I know.” 

She looks at him for a beat longer before finally nodding. 

“Okay,” she agrees. She pulls a pen from her purse and writes her number on a napkin, handing it over to Jughead when she’s done. “Text me sometime this week and we can talk things over.” 

Jughead salutes her before walking out of Pop’s, a takeout bag in his hand. She watches him go, watches him get on a sleek black motorcycle and drive off before she finally looks back towards her friends. 

Veronica has a glare on her face and Reggie looks both confused and entertained. 

“What?” She asks them, a little accusatory. 

“You’re playing with fire,” Veronica answers her, voice stern. “This isn’t going to end well.” 

“Shut up, Ronnie.” That should have sounded playful but it came out more annoyed and defensive. “I know what I’m doing.” 

“I don’t think you do, but for your sake, I hope you’re right.”

Betty just looks back down at her milkshake. She totally has this under control. It’s all for Archie and it’ll be worth it in the end. 

 

“Which color do you think looks better on me?” 

Betty watches as Veronica holds up two dresses against her body, a red one and a purple one. She’s having this huge birthday party at her parent’s mansion while they’re away and she’s insisted that both she and Betty need new dresses for it. Veronica doesn’t do anything half assed and she’s already stated that the party has to have a strict dress code, which is why they’re shopping for dresses that Betty would never buy for herself willingly. Thank God for Veronica’s trust fund and black card.

“That one,” Betty says as she points to the black Valentino studded scallop dress. 

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Veronica says as she tosses the red and purple Dolce & Gabbana dresses to the side as if they were worth nothing. Betty walks over to them and picks them up, placing them back on the rack in the dressing room. 

“I was thinking about this one for you,” Veronica says as she picks up a white dress from the rack. She hands it to her and Betty reads the tag, ignoring Veronica in the background. “It would go so good with your skin tone and if you wore those nude heels daddy bought me from Stuart Weitzman? You’d look killer!” 

“Brandon Maxwell belted mini dress in Ivory, wait,” Betty flips over the tag to check the price.  
“Veronica, this dress is really expensive.” Veronica just looks at Betty with a bored look. “You can’t buy me this.”

“I’m not. Daddy is. Daddy loves you! And it’s a birthday gift. As you know, my birthday is your birthday. I can’t have my girl looking less than perfect at my party.” 

Betty just rolls her eyes as she snorts in laughter. Before she can answer Veronica, her phone beeps from her purse. She pulls it out and sees that it’s a number she doesn’t know. 

**It’s Jughead. Want to talk about that date now?**

Betty must have a sour look on her face because Veronica asks who’s texted her. 

“It’s Jughead.”

“That was rather fast,” Veronica noted. “What did he say?” 

“Just asking about a date. I never mentioned anything about a date.” 

“What do you think fake dating is, Betty? Invite him to my party if you want. Parties are a great place to talk and get to know someone.” Veronica grabs her bag from where it had been hanging as she walks out of the dressing room to go and pay for the dresses. 

Betty just stares at the message, not knowing what to say back to him. 

“I still think this is a bad idea,” her best friend reminds her again once they leave the store. “You don’t even really know Jughead. What if he’s some crazy stalker or serial killer?”

“I doubt it,” she says with an eyeroll. “Archie and him are friends so he can’t be that bad.” 

“Yes, because Archie has _impeccable_ taste. Only a guy with impeccable taste could ignore your very obvious hints for years.” 

Betty ignores Veronica’s sarcastic tone. “I think I am going to invite Jughead,” she tells her. “It’ll be fun.” 

“That’s not exactly the word I would use,” Veronica sighs. “But it’ll definitely be something.”

 

Veronica’s party is in full swing Saturday night. Betty recognizes a few familiar faces from school, but majority of the people here she’s never seen before in her entire life. Veronica’s too busy entertaining guests to stay and hold her hand so she sticks by the food table set up in the back of what Veronica calls the parlor. 

Jughead had told her that he’d come by, but she hasn’t gotten a text from him all night so she’s starting to think that maybe he bailed. She doesn’t know what the protocol for one’s fake boyfriend standing them up is so she decides she’ll just let it slide. Jughead doesn’t seem like one for big, fancy parties anyway. 

She spends a fair amount of the party talking to Kevin Keller and his boyfriend Joaquin. They’re actually really funny and she finds herself having a good time with them. At least until Kevin overdid it and got a little too drunk and Joaquin had to take him home before he ended up passing out on the ground. 

So now she was alone, surrounded by a bunch of strangers and finger food that looked way too fancy to even touch. 

“I feel like I’ve just stepped into a party for the rich and famous.” 

She turns around and sees Jughead standing in front of her, hands in his pockets as he looks around uneasily. He’s not too dressed up, but he isn’t wearing his usual comfort clothing. He’s in dark jeans and a black button up, but he has his signature beanie on. Even if you don’t know Jughead Jones, chances were you knew of his crowned beanie. He’d had the thing since they were kids and he never took it off. Betty wasn’t sure she’d ever seen him without it on. 

“You came,” she states the obvious. “I didn’t think you would.”

“I had some stuff I had to take care of.” 

Betty just nods, not really knowing what to say. Veronica was right, she doesn’t know Jughead at all. She has no idea how to act around him or what to talk to him about. 

“I’m hungry, but I’m scared to touch that food.” 

“Why?” She asks in confusion. 

“It looks like it costs more than everything in my closet. Does it taste as good as it looks?” 

“I guess. I haven’t really eaten anything.” 

She watches as Jughead picks up some kind of weird looking sandwich. 

“So do you guys usually throw parties like this?” He asks as he takes a bite. “This sandwich is really fucking good by the way.” 

Betty grimaces as he talks with his mouth full. “No,” she answers his question. “It’s Veronica’s birthday on Monday so she’s throwing her party tonight.” 

“So where is the hostess?” 

“Probably off entertaining guests, I guess. Why?” 

“I should wish her a happy birthday, shouldn’t I?” He seems confused at Betty’s own confusion. She hadn’t been expecting him to actually care about her friends. 

“We can find her later.” 

Jughead just nods as he wipes his hands on his jeans. 

“You look really nice,” he says with pink cheeks. “I like your dress.” 

She’s taken off guard at the compliment before she remembers what is it they’re doing here. Jughead’s going to be her pretend boyfriend so of course he’s going to feed her compliments from time to time. She knows he’s only saying it because he kinda has to, but she still smiles at his words.

“Thank you. It’s new.” 

“You buy new outfits for every party you go to?” He doesn’t sound judgemental, he sounds genuinely curious.

“No. Veronica likes to buy people things and she insisted that I needed a new dress.”

“Sounds like a good friend.” 

“She is.” 

Jughead nods and once again they find themselves in a bit of an awkward silence. 

“Do you want to see if we can find her?” Betty asks, desperate to fill in the quietness growing between them. “She can’t have gone too far.” 

“Of course not, in a house like this I imagine it’s a bit _hard_ to get lost.” Betty snorts and leads Jughead out of the parlor. 

It takes a while, but she finally finds Veronica in the game room watching Reggie play pool against some guy Betty’s never seen before in her entire life. 

“Hey, V!” She greets as she walks over to the brunette. Veronica looks up and once she sees who's called her, she grins widely. 

“B!” She runs over to her and engulfs her in a hug as if they haven’t seen each other in years. “Where’d you go? I’ve been so bored.” 

“I doubt that,” Betty laughs. Veronica seems a little tipsy right now so she decides she’ll stick by her. Veronica tended to get a little wild when she drank. 

“Hi, Jughead,” Veronica greets. “Glad you could make it.” Jughead seems a little surprised by Veronica’s warm greeting, but he soon gathers himself up as he smiles back at her. 

“Hi. Happy birthday. Betty told me you’re celebrating.” 

“Thank you!” Veronica gasps, eyes watering a little bit. “You’re the first person to tell me that all night.” 

“Oh,” he says, not knowing what to do. 

Betty just rolls her eyes as she places her hand around Veronica’s waist, noticing the way the other girl is swaying. She might be a little more than tipsy right now. 

“Hey, babe!” Reggie shouts, coming up the group. “Did you see me beat that guy’s ass? I just made $500 from that game.” 

“I think she needs to lay down,” Betty says, ignoring his boasting. Reggie takes in his girlfriend’s current state and nods, taking her from Betty’s hands and leading her away from the crowded room. 

“She’s going to be embarrassed about that tomorrow,” she tells Jughead. “She hates when she drinks so much that she passes out.” 

“She didn’t seem that bad.” 

“Trust me, one more drink and she would have been on her ass. Veronica’s a lightweight.” Jughead laughs and Betty smiles. “Do you want something to drink? I can make something for you. I work at a bar so I’m kind of badass at making drinks.” 

“No,” he says a little quickly. “I don’t drink.” 

“That’s cool.” Betty’s never been a big drinker either. She usually has to watch over Archie or Veronica when they decide to drink too much. She’s not complaining, but sometimes it sucks being the sober friend. “Do you want to go outside or something? It’s really loud in here and we can talk better out there.”

“Sure.” 

She wants to be able to get to know Jughead better. If they’re going to do this, then she needs to know as much as she can about him. This isn’t going to work with a stranger, so she’d like to try to be friends with him first. 

There are a few people outside, but it seems like this is where the sober people are hanging out so Betty decides it’s safe for them to stay out here. She walks over to the white gazebo in the back of the yard that Veronica’s dad had built for her whenever she went through her painting phase that had only lasted a month. Veronica had insisted she needed somewhere she could truly capture nature and her father was nothing if not a pushover when it came to her. 

“This is nice,” Jughead says as he runs his hand over the railing. “Whoever built it did a beautiful job.” 

“Have you ever built anything?” 

He shrugs. “I worked with Archie’s dad on construction for a couple of summers and I took woodshop in high school. I’ve built a few things. Nothing as beautiful as this though.” Betty just nods, a bit fascinated. She had never known this about him. How could she have not known that he had worked with Archie’s dad? Had she really been that consumed over the redheaded boy?

“Did you enjoy it?” 

“I really did,” he smiles gently as if remembering something. “It’s hard work, but it’s fun. The feeling you get when you finally finish a project, there’s nothing like it.” His voice takes a nostalgic tone and Betty finds herself smiling with him. She’s never really had a passion like that before and it’s nice to see someone who does.

“I carved a soap box once,” she finds herself saying.

“Like they do in boy scouts?” 

“Yeah,” she snorts. “Archie was in boy scouts and I was in girl scouts and I was so jealous that he got to do cool things like soap box derbies while I had to sell cookies.” She smiles as she recalls the memory. “I was so upset over it that Archie told me he’d have a race with me and that he’d help me carve my own soap box. I still have it.” 

“Did you win?” 

“I did.” She gets lost in the memory as she stares up at the sky. Archie’s always been the biggest part of her life, the most important part of it; she doesn’t know a memory that doesn’t include him in it. 

“So this fake dating thing… you’re serious about it?” 

“I know it sounds crazy.” She really does. She can only imagine what Jughead thought of her. Hell, even Reggie had told her it was a bad idea and he was the poster boy for making big mistakes. “But I need to do this. Archie’s everything to me and I just- I need things to be perfect for him.” 

She’s always hated that word, “perfect”. Her whole life all she’s ever been told is how perfect she is, the golden girl, the all star, the straight A-student. She resented the name and everything it meant. She hated feeling like she had to live up to some imaginary standard, yet all she wanted to do was be perfect for Archie. She was so scared that if she was anything less than perfect that he’d realize he could do better than her.

“I’m not judging you. I wouldn’t do that.” Jughead offers her a kind smile. “I understand liking someone so much you’d do anything for them.” 

“Yeah? You got a secret crush on someone out there?” She asks, jokingly.

“No one I’m ever going to tell. I’m better off watching from a distance.” 

Betty nods in understanding. She had been the exact same way before. She gets it. 

“I don’t know the first thing about being someone’s girlfriend,” she admits to him. “How embarrassing is that?” She’s twenty years old and she’s never even had her first kiss, all because it’s something she’s always wanted to save for Archie. 

“Well, I guess we’re both embarrassments then because I’ve never had a girlfriend before.” 

“Really?” It’s not that hard to believe, Jughead’s a freaking recluse but he’s also kinda cute in a broody, rebellious-teen-movie-star sort of way. 

“There was this girl, Sabrina, she would come down during the summers and we sort of had something, but not anything serious enough to classify as dating. It was more like two teenagers experimenting and learning things.” He says it almost wistfully and Betty wonders if maybe the girl he’d been talking about earlier is Sabrina, the one who he’ll admire from far away. 

“So you have experience?” 

“I guess you could say that.” 

Betty nods, a bit shyly. 

“You don’t?” He asks, shocked. “At all?” 

“I told you I’ve never dated anyone before.” 

“Neither have I,” he reminds her. “You don’t need to date someone to have experience in things.” 

The idea sounds insane to her. She’d been brought up with the notion that you could only ever be intimate with the man you would marry. Obviously she didn’t really believe that anymore, but the overall concept still stayed with her. She had only ever wanted to be intimate with Archie and she knew that they’d be together forever so it was kind of the same thing. 

“So what are you trying to get out of this?” He asks her once she doesn’t respond back to him. “You want to learn how to hold hands or something?”

She glares at his teasing tone. “No, yes. Maybe. I don’t know. I want to learn how to act, what I’m supposed to do to make him happy. I want to learn how to plan dates and just how to be a good girlfriend in general. You don’t have to really teach me anything. I just need you to let me practice on you.” 

Jughead makes a face, but before she can even attempt to read into it, he relaxes and smiles at her. 

“Well, Betty Cooper, I’m your man.” He reaches out and places his arm around her shoulders, bringing her in closer to him. She freaks out a little bit, going stiff before looking at him in confusion. “Okay, I’m pretty sure that dating someone means you don’t freak out whenever they put their arm around you.” 

_Right,_ she thinks to herself. _Of course._ She needs to loosen up. She leans into Jughead’s embrace. He’s warm and his chest isn’t as strong or muscular as Archie’s is, but somehow it feels a lot more comfortable. She soon finds herself laying completely against him, not even worrying about her weight crushing him like she usually does with Archie.

They spend their night people watching, coming up with stories about everyone at the party. 

_That girl is totally trying to hide from some creep who won’t leave her alone._

_That’s the third girl that guy has tried to hit on and it looks like he’s about to strike out again._

_They’re definitely looking for a threesome._

It’s fun, it’s more fun than Betty’s had in awhile. She wonders if this is all there is to dating? Just sitting around with your boyfriend, laughing and talking while he has his arm around you.

When it’s time for them to finally leave, Betty pulls out her phone to call an Uber. 

“What are you doing?” Jughead asks her. “I’ll give you a ride home.” 

She glances over at his motorcycle and gives him a wary look. 

“Oh, come on,” he says with an eye roll. “It’s not that scary. In fact I think you’ll find that you like it.” He swings a leg over the bike and hands a helmet towards her, eyes inviting and daring. 

“I don’t think this dress was made for a motorcycle if we’re being honest.” 

Jughead looks down at her legs before biting his lip in thought. He doesn’t say anything as he unbuttons his button up and hands it over to her. He’s wearing a tight, black t shirt under it and he shivers as the cold air hits his bare arms. 

“Wrap it around your front,” he instructs her. 

“You can’t give me your flannel _and_ your helmet,” she protests. “What about you?” 

“I’ll be fine. I’m a bit more worried about you.” He looks at her curiously, almost as if he’s studying her. Before she realizes what he’s doing, he pulls a leather jacket off of the seat behind him that she hadn’t even noticed before.

“Don’t judge me,” he tells her. She just looks at him in confusion as he hands her over the jacket. She doesn’t know why’d she judge him for having a leather jacket until she unfolds it and sees the serpent staring back at her. She holds the jacket in her hands, looking down at the symbol staring back at her in wonder and a bit in fear. 

“You’re a--?” 

“Yes,” Jughead answers before she can even say anything. “I understand if that changes things.” He looks down in shame and she wonders how many people have turned him away because of this. She wonders if she’s going to be one of those people. 

As soon as the thought comes into her mind, it leaves. Jughead has been nothing but kind to her and she has no reason to believe he’s anything but. She doesn’t say anything, she just puts the jacket and helmet on and wraps his flannel around her waist to cover her legs. She ignores his look of surprise as she climbs onto the back of his motorcycle. 

“Show me how fast this thing can go.” It’s a daring thing to say, one she probably wouldn’t ever actually say but she feels this need to prove to Jughead that she isn’t going to run away from him like others obviously have. She wonders just how long he’s been alone for. 

He just laughs before he starts up the bike and then they’re off. 

They’re off and he’s speeding through the streets. Betty has a tight hold on him as she looks at the scenery flashing by them. She can’t help the large grin that covers her face. The speed and the cool wind she feels against her body send a rush of adrenaline through her. She’s never felt this kind of rush before and a part of her almost wants to yell out at the excitement she feels racing through her blood. 

All too soon they’re parked in front of her house and she feels a sense of loss at the fact that she’ll have to get off the bike. 

“It’s always fun the first time.”

“Does it wear off?” She asks, sadden by the idea that it might. 

“Never.” He grins at her as he takes back his jacket, flannel, and helmet. “Do you want to do something next week?” 

She hadn’t been expecting him to ask so soon, but she assumes that he’s taking the whole “fake dating” thing pretty serious. 

“Sure. We can go down to Sweetwater? It’s nice this time of year.” 

“I’ll call you,” he says with a smile. 

She waves him off before making her way inside of her house. Her parents are both asleep when she enters and she thanks God for little miracles.

She’s asleep in her bed as soon as her head touches it, shoes still on and all. 

 

She doesn’t have anything planned for her and Jughead really. When she goes down to Sweetwater with Archie, they’re usually walking Vegas. They don’t go down there just for the hell of it and she isn’t sure why she offered the idea to Jughead. 

On a last minute plan, she packs them both a lunch in an old basket her mother had hidden away in the kitchen. It’s something straight out of a romantic comedy and she would laugh at the entire situation, if it weren’t so unbelievably cliche. She almost decides to put the sandwiches into a plastic store bag. 

A text from Jughead lets her know that he’s already at the river and so she just leaves the food in the basket, grabbing a couple of waters and throwing them in as well before she makes her way out of her house. Sweetwater isn’t too far from her house, most things in Riverdale are pretty close together since it’s such a small town so she decides to walk.

It’s a nice day outside and she’s enjoying the walk, thinking about her morning. Archie had Skyped her earlier in the day and he’d told her about how he was settling in. He was rooming with some guy named Jason Blossom and he mentioned that he was pretty cool and that they were going to go out for drinks that night since they were both legal in the U.K. Betty was happy for him. Sure, she was still sad that he was so far away but she was glad that he was having a good time and making friends. 

Their time difference wasn’t too bad and he told her that he’d call her before he went to bed. She’d still be up at the time, so she was excited to hear from him. The conversation had left her with a bit of a skip in her step and it isn’t much longer before she’s at Sweetwater, seeing Jughead’s silhouette in the distance.

She hears a tiny yapping and looks around, trying to see where it’s coming from. 

“Hot Dog!” She hears Jughead call out. “Get away from there!” As she gets closer to them she sees that Jughead is watching a fluffy white dog run around and explore. 

“You have a dog?” She coos as she finally reaches him. He jumps up, obviously not expecting her to get there so soon, before giving her a smile in greeting.

“Yeah, this little pest over here is Hot Dog, come here boy!” The dog runs over to them, nearly pushing Betty down as he jumps up on her. She laughs as she settles the basket she’d brought onto the ground, allowing the dog to jump all over her. He’s a heavy thing and she has to work to hold them both up, but she’s smiling and laughing the whole time. She’s always adored dogs even though she’s never had one of her own. 

“Sorry about him,” Jughead says with a smile, “he gets excited around new people.” He pulls a tennis ball from his jacket pocket, a regular blue jean jacket, and throws it into the distance. Hot Dog’s attention is taken by it and they both watch as the furry dog runs after it. 

“Don’t worry about it, he was cute.” Jughead sits down by her and she places the basket in front of them. “So this is going to sound supper cheesy, but I kind of made us sandwiches and stuff? I only ever really come down here with Archie when we’re walking his dog so I wasn’t sure what to bring and I didn’t know if maybe you’d be hungry.”

“Starving actually,” he says a bit sheepishly. “I haven’t eaten all day.”

Betty doesn’t mention that it’s four in the afternoon, so the fact that he hasn’t eaten is kind of really alarming. Instead she just opens the basket and pulls out one of the sandwiches she’d made for him. 

“I actually made us four because I’m kind of extra like that, and I brought a pack of Walker’s shortbread rounds in case maybe Hot Dog wants some? I would have gotten him some snacks if I knew he was coming.”

“Betty, this is perfect,” he tells her as he stops her troubled mind with a smile. “Definitely something a good girlfriend would do.”

“Really? I’ve never cooked for Archie, although I don’t know if you can classify this as cooking.” 

Jughead laughs loudly. “I don’t think you can, but this is good just the way it is. I can cook actually. If you ever want to have dinner or something.”

“Will you teach me?” She asks him. “That way I can learn, you know, for--.” 

“Yeah,” he cuts her off quickly, voice a bit rough. “I can teach you. We can have dinner at my place sometime.” 

She smiles, liking the idea. 

They start eating after that, occasionally Jughead will throw the ball for Hot Dog and they engage in a bit of smalltalk. Betty’s having a good time despite the circumstances. She can’t believe that she never talked to Jughead before or that she’s only talking to him now because of Archie. He’s a funny guy with a kind heart and she wonders why he hides it from everyone. 

“The water looks nice,” Jughead tells her randomly. “Do you ever swim in it?” 

“In Sweetwater?” She yelps. “No. I don’t think that’s safe.” The water does look inviting though as she stares out at it. Today’s one of those days where it’s calm and steady instead of thrashing around with its rapids. 

“I haven’t gone swimming in so long. I used to go to the pool with my family when I was younger but we haven’t done that in years.” 

“Veronica has a pool. She hardly uses it these days. Maybe a pool party is in the future.” 

Jughead laughs. “How was she after the party? She okay?” 

“Yeah. She’s one of those people who doesn’t really know their limits, but Reggie’s always there to take care of her when she needs him.” 

Jughead just nods. 

“I think you’d like her,” Betty tells him. He sends her a doubtful look. “I do! Maybe even Reggie too. He’s a bit much, but once you get to know him you’ll realize what a good friend he is.” 

“You want me to meet your friends?” He asks, unsure. 

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I?” 

“I’m not your actual boyfriend,” he shrugs but he looks down while he says it, picking at the grass beneath him. 

“Well, of course you aren’t, but you’re still my friend. If we’re going to be doing this for a few months then you should meet my friends.” She doesn’t bring up the fact that she’ll meet his friends as well if he wants. She doubts he really has any. She assumes he must have some, though. She thinks back to the leather jacket she’d held in her hands last night. His friends are probably Serpents and she doesn’t know how she’d feel about meeting them. She wonders if they’re nice like Jughead or if he’s one of a kind.

“Alright,” he agrees but he doesn’t sound like he means it. He’s hung around them before with Archie so she doesn’t see why it’s such a big deal, but she decides not to push him. 

They spend the rest of the evening just playing with Hot Dog and talking. Night falls soon and they say goodbye, Betty promising to text him later on in the week with another “date” planned. Hopefully the next date she can actually learn something. Today was more of a day for testing the waters, seeing if they had anything in common at all and they did, so she assumed things would be okay between them for the next couple of months. 

Her phone vibrates in her hand on the way home and she sees that it’s a snapchat message from Archie. 

**Hey, Betty! It’s super late over here, but we just got back to the room. Raincheck on our Skype date? I’m going to head to bed already. Love you!!!!**

She feels her heart drop at the fact that she won’t get to really talk to Archie tonight, but she lets him know that it’s okay. She’s glad he’s out having fun and she won’t make him feel bad for it. She has no reason to. A small part of her wants to tell her best friend about her new friendship with Jughead, but she isn’t sure how to explain it to him without informing him of the whole plan. There’s no way Archie would believe that she just became friends with Jughead out of nowhere. A part of her briefly wonders if Jughead will even stick around once this whole thing is finished. He’s really cool and they get along well, but she just couldn’t see him sticking around. The thought saddens her, but she doesn’t let it get to her. 

 

“That was the worst movie I have ever seen in my entire life.”

“It wasn’t _that_ bad.”

“You’re right. It was worse. Seriously, Betty. What were you thinking?” 

Jughead and her had decided to go to the movies. It was the perfect first “real” date idea, he had told her. He had even let her pick the movie, some cheesy action film that turned out to be more of a romance movie. She had thought it was cute, cheesy and cliche but cute. Jughead had hated it. He’d actually even fallen asleep for about ten minutes of it. 

“You’re being too harsh,” she tells him, but she’s smiling at how upset he really seems over the movie. It’s kind of endearing to see him get so worked up over something like this. “I give it three stars.”

“Out of ten?”

“Out of five!” 

“That’s pushing it,” he mumbles. Betty just laughs and shakes her head at him. 

Jughead carelessly throws an arm over Betty’s shoulder, it’s the arm that’s still holding a bag of Twizzlers in it and he shoves them in her face. 

“Want one?”

She takes it and bites at it. She hadn’t realized just how hungry she was. Her box of M&M’s hadn’t done anything to fill her up. At the thought, her stomach growls loudly and her face turns red in embarrassment. 

Jughead looks down at her and laughs. “Hungry?”

“I haven’t eaten anything all day,” she admits to him with a frown. 

“You want to go get something to eat? I would take you to a nice restaurant, but I don’t actually have that much on me right now…” He trails off and Betty can see the way his face reddens at his own words. 

“We can go to Pop’s?” She offers. Pop has the best burgers in town and they’re actually really cheap too. “Archie’s always taking me out to expensive restaurants after we see a movie and it’s kind of old. I think a burger sounds perfect right about now.” 

Jughead doesn’t stop frowning, but he just nods without looking at her. Betty hopes that he doesn’t feel bad about not being able to take her somewhere fancy. She’s never cared about all of that. An ideal date to her is this; a movie and a burger at Pop’s. That’s all she really needs. She wishes Jughead knew that, but then she wonders why Jughead would even have to know that. If anything it’s Archie that she needs to make sure knows that. He’s the one who’s going to be taking her on dates for the rest of her life if everything goes according to plan.

 

Pop’s is fairly crowded when they arrive. It’s a Saturday night so it’s expected, but it still annoys her to find that there aren’t very many sitting options. They’re about to make their way to the counter to sit, when a voice calls out her name. She turns around and sees Veronica waving her over to the booth she’s currently sitting at in the back of the diner. Reggie’s with her and Betty sees it as the perfect opportunity to finally properly introduce Jughead to her friends.

She turns to him and sees how he stiffens up a little bit. 

“Are you okay with sitting with them?” She asks. She doesn’t want to make him do anything he isn’t comfortable with. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to. It’s okay.” 

Jughead just shakes his head before giving her a smile that looks a little forced. “No. No, it’s fine. I want to meet them.” 

She can tell that he’s lying but she nods anyway as she leads them over to the booth. She can understand why he’s a bit hesitant. She’s never really liked meeting new people either. That’s why she’s had the same group of friends her entire life. It’s probably why she never attempted to try to be friends with Jughead before, although she really regrets that one. 

“Hey, guys,” she says as she slides on the side opposite of Reggie and Ronnie. Jughead slides in next to her and nods at them in greeting. 

“Sup, Elle Woods,” Reggie jokes with a smile. “Donnie Darko, how’s it going?” He turns to Jughead. Veronica must have hit him under the table because he lets out a little ‘oof’ before turning and giving her a glare. “I’m just joking, woman. Jeez. It’s good to see you, Jughead.”

Jughead just nods and Betty wishes he’d try to make an attempt to start a conversation with them, but she won’t push him. 

“What are you guys up to?” She asks them instead. 

“We went shopping earlier. I tried to get Reggie to take me to go see that new movie but he wasn’t having it.” Veronica turns and glares at her boyfriend who just pops a french fry into his mouth. 

“Sorry, babe, but I told you, I don’t do chick flicks and I definitely don’t do chick flicks that decide to mesh with action films. It’s just wrong and no one should have to sit through that.” 

“Far From Home? We just saw that movie!” Betty exclaims, still excited over it. “Oh, it was so good.”

“It was shit,” Jughead snorts and everyone looks at him, a little bit shocked that he’s actually said something. It makes Betty smile.

“I told you,” Reggie says smugly to Veronica, “Jughead used to work at the drive-in, so he has good taste in movies. I think we should listen to him before we listen to Betty. She claims that One Tree Hill is the best series to ever come out on television.” 

“It is!” Betty and Veronica claim at the same time. 

Reggie just laughs. “She’s made me watch that shit like twenty times,” he says to Jughead. “Don’t let Betty suck you into that hole. You will never get out of it.” 

“My little sister watches that,” Jughead says with a scowl. “If I have to hear Gavin DeGraw sing that song one more time, I think I’m going to go insane.” 

Betty looks at him in surprise. She hadn’t been aware that Jughead had a little sister. Granted, she had never really paid attention to him before, but she doesn’t even remember Archie ever mentioning a sister. It’s news to her but she tries to picture Jughead with a younger sister and the image brings a smile to her face. Even when he had been trying to act annoyed just right now, the mere mention of his sister had brought a smile to his face. He seems like he’d be an amazing older brother and it’s a quality she could admire. 

“I tried to get her to watch Iron Fist with me, but she wasn’t having it,” Reggie says with a shake of his head.

“I’ve been meaning to watch that,” Jughead tells him. Betty notices that he isn’t hunched over anymore and leaning more towards her. He sits up straight, one arm thrown over the back of the seat as the other is perched up on the table. “I just caught up with all of Daredevil.” 

“Dude, badass! You should totally hit me up whenever you’re free and we can watch Iron Fist together, grab a few beers and make a guy’s night out of it. It beats listening to Veronica whine as she tries to change the show every five minutes.” Veronica elbows him and he laughs before turning his attention back to Jughead. “But for real, man. Hit me up sometime. It’s dull as fuck around here.” 

Betty gives Veronica a smile and the brunette winks back at her. She has a feeling that her friend has something to do with how open and cool Reggie’s being right now, but she doesn’t care. The way that Jughead looks, calm and happy, is exactly what she had wanted. 

Jughead and Reggie start up their own little conversation with each other about TV shows and movies they’re into and Betty turns her attention towards Veronica. 

“Having fun?” Her best friend asks with a knowing smile on her face. Betty doesn’t know why she’s looking at her like that, but she doesn’t ask. That’s something she’ll ask in private. 

“Yeah,” Betty admits. “More than I thought I would.” 

“Just be careful, B.” She says quietly, so the guys don’t hear. “Don’t get hurt.” 

Betty doesn’t know what she means by that. How would she get hurt? How would either of them get hurt? They both knew what was happening here. They understood the terms. Veronica just liked to be dramatic though, so Betty just nodded. 

 

“That was fun,” Betty tells Jughead as he walks her to her front door. “Thank you for tonight.” 

“Don’t thank me, I had a good time. Your friends weren’t so bad.” 

“You and Reggie were having a total bromance right in front of us,” she teases him. “Do I need to be worried?” 

“Nah,” he says with a smirk. “I’m more into blondes.” 

She laughs. She knows he’s just joking, that he doesn’t like her that way, but it’s still sweet to hear. The past few weeks she’s been spending with Jughead have been amazing. She’s having more fun than she can ever remember having before and it makes her feel both incredibly happy and sad. She’s having more fun with Jughead, someone she’s only really known for about a month, than she’s had with Archie lately. 

Archie was a great guy, but his idea of a good time was bringing Betty to his garage so she could listen to his new songs he’d been writing. They went out occasionally, sure, but Archie didn’t have the same kind of vivacious attitude that Jughead did. It was incredible, the way Jughead was completely different from how she’d originally thought him to be. He wasn’t so dark and brooding when you got to know him. He just had a lot of layers to himself. He reminded Betty of herself and it was a comforting thought, that they could be so alike and yet so different.

“I’ve always liked a boy with dark hair,” she says lightly as she pulls on one of his curls. He’s wearing his signature beanie and it looks cute on him. She wonders what his hair looks like without it. 

“Not redheads?” He asks her, tilting his head to the side. She realizes he’s asking because of Archie and she just shakes her head. 

“No. I’ve never really had a thing for the whole red hair. I guess it’s just him.” 

Jughead nods, but doesn’t say anything back.

“So what usually happens at the end of date night?” She asks him as she looks at the ground, toeing her shoes into the gravel. “Do we just hug and say goodnight?”

“Sure,” he shrugs. “We could do that. If the date was really good, sometimes it even leads to a goodnight kiss.” 

Betty’s head snaps up at his words. A goodnight kiss? She can’t help the blush that erupts on her cheeks. She’s never actually kissed anyone before. Archie had kissed her on the cheek once when they were much younger, but that was it. Her lips had never touched anyone elses and she wasn’t sure if she was embarrassed by that fact or not. It had been something she’d always thought she’d save for Archie, but now as she stood in front of Jughead and his warm eyes and gentle smile, she thought that maybe it’d be okay if she gave it to someone else.

“I’ve never kissed anyone before,” she admits to him a bit shyly, “I think I would like to kiss you.” 

His eyes widen at her words and she wonders what he’s thinking right now. Is he judging her? Does he think that she’s immature now? Is he not going to want to kiss her anymore?

“You’ve never kissed anyone before?” He asks, bewildered. She just shakes her head. “How is that possible?” He doesn’t sound like he’s judging her. He just sounds genuinely confused.

“I guess I was saving it for the right time, for someone special,” she tells him fully aware that that’s usually what people say when they’re defending their virginity, not their first kiss.

“We don’t have to. I didn’t know.” He backs away from her, but she reaches out and grabs his hand. 

“I want to,” she tells him, just now realizing how much she means it. She’d pictured her first kiss a thousand times before. She had pictured how it would happen with Archie. She had a million different scenarios and yet, for some reason, none of them came close to this one. “Teach me how.”

Jughead studies her for a minute before nodding. “I’m not sure about anyone else, but I’ll show you how _I_ like to kiss; how I’d kiss you if you were mine.” He says it a bit roughly, almost possessively, and Betty bites her lip.

She stays completely still as he walks closer to her until his chest is finally almost right against hers. He brushes her hair away from her face and rubs her cheek with his thumb. It’s so sweet and gentle just like he is and she holds her breath as he leans down and connects their lips slowly. 

It’s nothing like she’d ever pictured her first kiss. Jughead’s lips are a little chapped and hers are a little too sticky from her lip gloss. She’s a bit unsure what to do with her hands, so she places one of them around his bicep as she squeezes it softly. There’s no tongue, they don’t open their mouths at all. It isn’t messy and passionate like it usually is in the movies. 

Jughead pulls away slightly before leaning in again and kissing her once more. This time his lips aren’t so chapped and they even feel a little bit softer. It’s a simple thing. There aren’t any fireworks exploding around her and her knees don’t go weak, her heart isn’t racing, but yet it still feels as though something life changing has just happened to her. 

He presses his lips to hers a little rougher this time and opens his mouth slightly. She does the same and chases his lips with her own. She’s copying his movements, but he seems to like it by the way his grip on her waist tightens. One of his hands snakes it’s way up to her hair and tangles itself in it. He pulls at her hair, gently to where it doesn’t actually hurt, and she gasps at the sensation. 

She doesn’t know how long they stand there kissing, she’s completely lost in his lips, but she knows that she never wants to stop.

When Jughead finally pulls away for good, he rests his forehead against hers for a few second before pulling away and kissing it as well. 

Betty just stares at him in awe, feeling completely blissful. Jughead smiles down at her. 

“Good first kiss?” He says it almost teasingly, but Betty can tell that he’s really nervous. She sees it in the way he adjusts his beanie twice even though it’s sitting perfectly on top of his head. 

“It was fantastic,” she says with a smile. 

“Good. That’s how you end a date,” he says before waving and turning around to walk away. 

In a way, tonight is the first time she’s ever actually been on a date with anyone before. It was so simple, but yet she wondered if there was a way that any other date would be able to ever live up to it, to the feeling of complete serenity she was feeling right now. She wonders if this is what all first dates are like.

Once Jughead’s gone, she goes inside. Just as she gets to her room, her laptop alerts her that she’s getting a Skype call from Archie. For some reason that she can’t explain, she doesn’t feel excited to talk to him. She had just wanted to go to sleep with the feeling of Jughead lips still fresh in her mind. 

She looks in the mirror before answering the call, wondering if Archie will be able to tell if she’s just been kissed. She wonders if she even wants him to know or if this is something she wants to keep to herself. She might have mentioned something like this to him before, to get a rise out of him and see if he’d be jealous but now she doesn’t even entertain that idea. Her kiss with Jughead wasn’t for Archie, it was for her. She doesn’t know what to do with that realization.

She doesn’t let herself stay focused on it for too long. This entire thing is for Archie. Jughead doesn’t like her and she can’t like him either, not like that at least. She needs to remember why she’s doing all of this. 

She answers the Skype call with Archie and pushes all thoughts of Jughead out of her mind. It’s a little hard though, when she can still feel his lips on hers.

 

As the weeks grow so does Betty and Jughead’s relationship. 

They spend their days down at Sweetwater with Hot Dog or in a booth at Pop’s, laughing and talking over milkshakes. Sometimes they “double date” with Veronica and Reggie. They deem Friday their movie night and use it to try to show each other the worst movies ever made. Sometimes they just hang out in Betty’s room, doing absolutely nothing. Reggie and Jughead eventually do end up binging Iron Fist together and sometimes when Betty will text him to hang out, Jughead says ‘sorry, with reggie for the day! Tomorrow?’ It puts a smile on her face like nothing else ever has. Veronica’s told her that Reggie’s really taken with Jughead and Betty feels a sense of pride over the whole thing. 

In fact, today Jughead and Reggie are out fishing. Betty’s pretty sure that Jughead’s never gone fishing before, but Reggie had talked him into it by saying he’d buy them burgers to go. So Betty and Veronica were having a simple girl’s day, hanging out in Betty’s room as they talked. 

“How are things with Jughead?” Veronica asks while painting Betty’s nails. “You guys seemed really close the other day at mini golf.” 

Betty smiles at the memory. She had never gone mini golfing before and Jughead had offered to teach her. The way his body lined up with her as he wrapped his arms around her was something that she couldn’t forget. It was silly to get flustered over such a cliche move, but she couldn’t help the way she had pushed back into his body, wanting to feel as much of him as she could. Veronica had definitely noticed it, but she hadn’t said anything until now. 

“They’re good,” Betty admits. “I really like him. He’s a great friend.” 

Veronica snorts. “Friend? You sure about that?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean,” she says as she puts the nail polish away, “you guys kissed, doesn’t that change things? He was your first kiss and I doubt you’d let just anyone kiss you so he has to mean something to you. You may not notice it, but you’re different around him. You seem happier and more aware. When he moves, you move and vice versa. You guys are so in sync. It’s actually kind of creepy.”

Betty blushes at the words but shakes her head. “It’s not like that. I’m only doing this because of Archie. I was talking to him yesterday,” she says as she tries to change the subject, “he’s excited to be coming home next month.” 

It was crazy, that four months had flown by so quickly. She’d been having so much fun with Jughead that time seemed to be flying by them. It made her unbelievably sad to think that this would all be done in a few weeks.

“I wasn’t talking about Archie,” Veronica sighs. “I think Jughead’s a little more of a friend and you know it.” 

“He’s not.” He can’t be. For one, he doesn’t like her like that and she doesn’t like him that way either. This is all for Archie. 

She hates how she has to remind herself of that so often. 

“I just don’t want to see either of you get hurt,” Veronica says. “I like Jughead. I don’t know how this is supposed to end well for either of you.” 

Betty doesn’t tell her that she’s been thinking the exact same thing lately. 

“I could never be with him,” Betty says with a shake of her head. “He’s a Serpent, Ronnie. Did you know that?” Veronica’s eyes widen at the words and she visibly flinches. Betty knows that her friend hadn’t been aware of that news. Jughead hardly ever wore his Serpent jacket around them and well, they just hadn’t paid enough attention to him before to notice. 

“And?” Veronica finally asks when the initial shock has worn off. “The Serpent’s aren’t evil incarnate. They’re not good, sure, but petty theft and the occasional drug dealing isn’t anything to be worked up over.” 

“He could be considered a criminal,” Betty tries to reason with her. She’s not sure why she wants Veronica to think less of Jughead. Why is she even telling Veronica any of this? She’s never cared about Jughead being a Serpent before. 

Apparently Ronnie thinks the same thing, because she just gives Betty a knowing look.

“Hardly,” she scoffs. “Are you trying to convince yourself here or me?” Betty stays quiet. “All I’m saying is, you know that what you’re feeling isn’t truly platonic and Archie’s coming home soon so you need to decide what it is that you’re doing.” 

She wishes she had even the slightest clue. 

 

Jughead invites her over to his apartment the week before Archie is supposed to come home. It takes Betty by surprise because they’ve never actually been over to his place before. They usually just go to Betty’s house, so she’s excited to say the least. She knows that Jughead lives in his own apartment and she’s eager to see it. 

When she gets to his place, it’s a little past seven in the evening. Jughead was finally cooking her dinner and from where she stood outside of his door, she could smell it and it smelled _amazing_.

She knocks on the door and is shocked when a girl who looks to be about eight answers it. The girl is the spitting image of Jughead right down to his dark curls and Betty can’t help but be in awe of the similarities. 

“Hi,” the girl says with a shy voice, “you must be Betty.”

“That’s me,” Betty smiles. “What’s your name?”

“I’m Jellybean.” Betty doesn’t even bat an eyelash at the name. “You’re really pretty. Jug said you were very pretty.” Betty blushes at the words, but before she can say anything else, Jughead comes up from behind Jellybean and opens the door wider for Betty. 

“Hey, you,” he says with a smile, kissing her on top of her head as she walks inside of the apartment. “Dinner just finished! I was setting the table right now. I hope steak is okay.” 

“Are you kidding? Steak is great.” Veronica’s always trying to get her to go vegan and Betty is finally glad to have someone around who enjoys meat and can even cook it. It’s a small blessing. 

“You can sit down. I’m just cutting up Jellybean’s steak for her,” he bites at his lip as he turns to Betty. “I’m sorry I didn’t mention she’d be here. I thought she would be going to a friend’s house, but they cancelled last minute and I know you didn’t sign up for--.” 

“Hey, no,” Betty stops him. “Don’t ever apologize for something like this. It doesn’t bother me at all, but you should never have to apologize to someone for watching your sister.” 

“I don’t watch her,” he says offhandedly as he picks up a knife and begins cutting at the steak. “She lives with me.”

“Oh,” Betty says. Jughead doesn’t elaborate or anything and she decides not to push him on the matter. It’s not any of her business and if he wants to tell her the story then that’s fine, but if not well, that’s fine too.

Jughead calls Jellybean over to the kitchen once the table is fully set and the three of them sit down to eat. Jellybean launches into conversation about how she’s excited for school and if Jughead can _please get her the black boots from the mall_. It’s nice to see Jughead interact with his sister. Betty can tell that he’s a complete pushover with her and it’s so cute and sweet. 

She tells Betty all about her school and her friends and asks if Betty would like to see her music collection someday. Talking to Jellybean reminds her of being a kid herself and she’s soon living off of the energy that the young girl is putting out. It’s the best dinner she’s had in a while and afterwards they play a game in the living room. She’s sad when Jughead finally tells Jellybean it’s time for bed. 

“Bye, Betty,” Jellybean tells her as she gives her a hug. “I hope you come over again!” 

Betty doesn’t tell her that of course, she’ll come back because she doesn’t know if she really will. Archie’s coming back soon and she doesn’t know what’s supposed to happen. Veronica had told her to make a choice, but Betty didn’t even know where to start. 

“I hope you had a good time,” Jughead says once he comes back to the living room. 

“I did,” Betty says honestly. “Jellybean is a sweetheart. I didn’t know you had a sister.” 

Jughead pauses before he sits down next to Betty on the couch. “Our parents are kind of shit. My mom took off with some random guy when Jellybean was three years old and my dad was always a drunk. It just got worse when my mom left.” He sighs and Betty watches as he clenches and unclenches his fist. “My dad is a good man, I’ll defend him until the day I die but… he had a temper. When he got drunk, he yelled. He never hurt us, but I knew that I didn’t want Jellybean to grow up with that. Sometimes....” he pauses and shuts his eyes tightly. “Sometimes if someone around me yells too loud, I freak out. I know that’s probably embarrassing to admit, but…” 

“It’s not,” Betty tells him softly, reaching out to place her hand over his in comfort. “That doesn’t make you weak at all and you shouldn’t be embarrassed. You’re doing a good thing here, Jughead. It’s admirable that you took Jellybean in like this. Not many people would. You’re a good brother.”

“She’s the reason I became a Serpent. My dad’s kind of the leader but he’s so out of it these days that…” he trails off and shakes his head. “Anyway, a lot of the guys owe him so they took me in and let me become one of them. They’re the only real family I have now. They’re all I’ve ever needed. They offer me protection and now I can offer the same thing to Jellybean. It’s not the best way to make money, but she wants badass boots and cool clothes for school so I do it for her. I’ll do anything for her.” 

“And that, Jughead Jones, is why you’re the most selfless guy I know.” And it’s true. She’s never met anyone like him before and she doesn’t think she ever will. Jughead is so self-sacrificing and good, she wonders if he even knows how amazing he truly is. Archie was never like that. Anything they had was always about his endeavors and pursuits, what was going on in his life, and her playing the cheerleader. She could never see Archie doing what Jughead did and does for Jellybean, he’s too used to everything being handed to him on a silver plate. A burst of affection, and even love, goes through her as she looks at him. He looks torn and a bit ashamed, but Betty’s never seen someone so wholesome. She realizes now that she can’t lose him. Even when Archie comes back, she needs Jughead in her life. It’s selfish and it’s wrong, but she doesn’t want to lose him. 

“When I was younger I used to want so much,” he says softly, almost like a whisper. “I used to want cool toys or games and then I wanted to be friends with the popular kids. I wanted a family, a girlfriend, I wanted happiness or money. I wanted everything and more.” He lets out a laugh. “Then I stopped wanting. I stopped wanting any of it. I can’t remember the last time I truly wanted something.” 

“Do you want something right now?” Betty asks curiously. 

Jughead looks at her, their eyes boring into one another’s. 

“You.” 

It’s one word, one simple word, and it hits her full force. She doesn’t know what to say. A part of her is yelling at herself to tell him just how bad she wants him too, because she does. Despite everything, despite her plan, in this moment he is the one thing she wants. She’s not thinking of anyone else except for Jughead. He’s all she can see. 

“You have me,” she tells him. 

“Do I?” He gives her a sad smile. “I don’t think I do.” 

“Jug--.”

“Archie will be back in a few days and what will happen then, Betty? This whole plan was for him. These four months were for him. Are you telling me you’re just going to throw that all away for some boy from the wrong side of the tracks?” 

Her head is spinning. Words fail her as she stares at Jughead, conflicted. 

“You deserve to be with Archie,” he tells her as he intertwines their hands. “You deserve someone who can give you everything I can’t. I can’t give you the things you want, the things you deserve. All I can offer you is a crappy one bedroom apartment.” He gestures to the couch they’re sitting on. “This is my bedroom, Betty. You don’t deserve this. You deserve the entire world. I’ll never be able to give that to you.”

This feels like a breakup. It feels like someone is ripping her heart out of her chest. She doesn’t want it to be. She wants to tell Jughead that he’s wrong, that she can be okay with all of this, but she doesn’t say anything. 

“You deserve fancy dinners and dates that cost more than forty dollars. You deserve more than crappy movies and a guy who can take you on shopping sprees with Veronica and Reggie. You deserve someone who can promise you stability in a few years. I wish I could be that guy for you, but--.” 

“What if that’s not what I want anymore?” She finally says, cutting him off. 

“You do. You’re just saying this because you’ve gotten so used to me since Archie’s gone.” He pulls his hand away from hers and stands up, leaving her speechless on the couch. “You know, I used to think you were untouchable.” Betty stares at him, confused. “When Archie and I first started hanging out in high school, I would see you in your River Vixen outfit and think that you were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I would go to all those stupid games just to see you cheer. You never noticed me though, you only noticed Archie and that was okay. I was fine with that. I knew that I would just hurt myself by agreeing to do this, but I just wanted to be your friend. That was at least something. That’s why I tried to be so arrogant and cocky in the beginning. I didn’t want to get too attached,” he snorts. “Guess that didn’t really work out.” 

Betty doesn’t even know she’s crying until she opens her mouth and a salty tear slides onto her lip. 

“I knew you’d never look at a guy like me the same way that you looked at Archie. I told myself long ago that I never had a shot, but I just want you to know, you might have just been the girl next door to Archie but you were always so much more to me.” 

Betty stands up and reaches for him, but he steps back. 

“Juggie,” she whispers, broken. 

“I hope you’re happy,” he tells her and he means it. She knows that he isn’t being malicious. He truly hopes that she’s happy in life and that hurts more than anything. 

She wants to tell him that she isn’t happy, that she doesn’t know how she’s supposed to ever be happy again after all of this. 

She doesn’t say anything though. She just leaves. 

 

When she shows up to Veronica’s thirty minutes later, the brunette just takes one look at her before pulling her into her arms. Betty cries as Veronica runs her fingers through her hair and not once does she tell Betty ‘I told you so’. Betty almost wishes she would.

 

On Saturday afternoon, Betty and Veronica go to the airport to pick up Archie. 

Betty hasn’t spoken to Jughead since the night at his apartment. She had tried calling and texting him, but everything went unanswered. It was radio silence but his message was coming along clear. Veronica had warned her that someone would get hurt, but she didn’t know it would be both of them in the end. 

“You’ll see Archie and everything will be okay,” Veronica tells her as she squeezes her hand. “Archie will make things better.”

She doesn’t believe her. She had dreamed of this moment for so long and even now, even as she sees the familiar red hair in the crowd walking towards them, she doesn’t feel anything. There’s no sense of happiness or love, there’s no feeling of relief at seeing his face. There’s nothing. She’s glad to see he’s alive and unhurt and he’s smiling so that’s good, but she isn’t jumping into his arms and proclaiming her love like she thought she would be. It’s confusing and yet it makes all the sense in the world.

She doesn’t feel anything, and she definitely doesn’t feel anything close to love. This is when everything truly clicks into place in her mind.

 

She doesn’t love Archie. She’s not sure if she ever loved him at all. 

“Hey, guys!” He greets, pulling them both in for a hug at the same time. “I’ve missed you two so much!” 

“Archiekins!” Ronnie giggles. “It’s so good to see you!” 

“Hey, Arch,” Betty says lightly. Hugging him feels like hugging her brother and she wonders how she could have been so blind. 

“I want you guys to meet someone,” he says once he pulls away. Veronica and Betty look at each other before turning back to him in wonder. He turns around and pulls someone forward. “This is Cheryl! We’re kind of dating now. She’s from New York and her brother is the one I was rooming with.”

A beautiful redheaded girl stands in front of them. Cheryl waves and Veronica’s eyes widen before she looks over at Betty, trying to take in her reaction. 

Betty just smiles though. She’s flooded with heartbreak, not because Archie’s with someone new, not at all. Instead because everything that transpired with Jughead was tainted with the _This is all for Archie_ mindset, and now she learns it didn’t have to be. 

“Hi, Cheryl,” she says. “It’s nice to meet you.” And it is. It really is. 

 

It’s not hard to find him. He’s sitting alone at a booth in Pop’s. His leather jacket is on and he stares out of the window next to him. 

“So here’s the thing,” Betty says as she slides in the seat across from him. Jughead jumps as he stares at her in astonishment. “I don’t want fancy dinners or dates that cost more than forty dollars. I don’t want shopping sprees. I like crappy movies and mini golf. I like your couch. I’d rather be with someone who would give up his bed for his little sister than someone who could buy me a mansion. I don’t want stability in a couple of years, I want excitement. I want passion and adventure and laughter and happiness. I want all of that and I want it with you.” 

Jughead just stares at her like he doesn’t quite believe what he’s hearing. 

“I don’t want the entire world or the boy next door,” she says finally. “I just want you.” 

“I’m a mess,” Jughead tells her, but he’s smiling now. “I won’t be able to put you first sometimes. Jellybean is my main priority above all else.” 

She has a feeling this has been a something that drove off past love interests in his life, but that won’t be the case for her. 

“I would never ask you to do that,” she says truthfully. 

“I have bad days. Sometimes work is… bad. Not everything is going to be sunshine and rainbows all the time, Cooper.” He smirks at her, almost like he’s teasing her. 

“I wouldn’t want it if it was.” 

Jughead grins and Betty knows that she’s right where she belongs.

**Author's Note:**

> As always, feel free to come talk to me on [tumblr](http://camelotskingz.tumblr.com). <3


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